Facing similar conditions the Women’s Varsity 8+ battled to 6th place, against some very strong Division III competition.

The Men’s 2nd Varsity 4+ was the last UO boat to race on a full 2000 meters, and they won easily, 13 seconds ahead of the competition. The 2V4 beat out Puget Sound, Humboldt, Lewis & Clark, Seattle Pacific, and Willamette U.

After the Men’s 2V4 the races were shortened to 1000 meters dues to the heavy chop on the first half of the course.

The Men’s Varsity 4+ placed 4th of 7, with a time of 4:11.7.
The Men’s Novice 8+ lost a close race to Puget Sound, by only 3 seconds to take second place.
The Men’s novice 8 was split into 4’s to race in the N4 and 2N4 events, placing 4th and 2nd respectively.

The Oregon Women continued to compete against strong DIII competition, placing 5th in the V4, 4th in the Novice 8, and 6th in the Novice 4.

Covered Bridge Regatta, Lake Dexter, Saturday April 13th
The following weekend the UO team raced on our home course at Dexter lake, facing increasingly strong winds as the afternoon wore on.

The Women’s 8+ raced in the JV event, and placed 7th against very tough competition, which included DI University of Portland and DII National Champion contenders Western Washington and Humboldt State. The Women’s Varsity 4 performed well in their heat, taking 2nd place overall.

The Men’s Varsity 8+ lost a close race to Western Washington to place 2nd, 4 seconds behind the 1st place boat. Varsity 4 B boat won their heat, obliterating the field by nearly 50 seconds. The A boat faced tougher competition, and had to settle for 5th.

The Novice Women’s 8 and 4 both earned third place finishes on the afternoon.

The Men’s Novice 4’s placed 3rd and 5th in their heats, while the N8 placed 4th overall.

WIRA Championships, Lake Natoma, April 27th-28th
The UO teams finished out the meat of their competitive year with a strong showing at the WIRA championships in Sacramento CA.

Leading the UO teams was the Women’s Varsity 4+, who placed fourth in their qualifying heat .3 seconds behind Long Beach State. A third place finish would have put the women into the grand finals, but they had to settle for a dominating performance in the petite final (8:19.8), beating out second place Willamette by 8 seconds.

The Men’s Varsity 8+ faced tough competition in their heat, finishing 4 seconds out of the 3rd place finish necessary to reach the grand finals. In the petite final they finished 2nd, giving 1st-place USC everything they had, losing by .4 seconds. The Mens V8 posted their best time of the year at WIRAs (on calm water) with a 6:24 2k.

The Men’s novice 8 placed 7th in their heat, and faced familiar foe Puget Sound in the 3rd final. The Novice men held a lead for most of the race, but were edged out in the last 500 meters.

The Women’s Novice 8 placed 6th in their qualifying heat, and struggled to a 5th place finish in the petite final after encountering equipment issues partway into the race.

The UO also featured Men’s and Women’s varsity pairs. The men, who had been practicing together for less than a week, finished 4th in the 3rd Final, while the Women nearly made it to the medal stand, placing 4th overall.